• July 2017

KARD architects team has participated and awarded with honorable mention in international architectural AWR competition PULPIT ROCK CHURCH. Architects and designers from all over the world have been called to design a new temporary church on the exquisite site of Preikenstolen in Norway, known as the Pulpit Rock. The spectacular view and the rocky landscape was among the factors that would define the design of the spiritual space.
The architectural design process is motivated by two dominant components of space: the rocky sharp-edge topography and the hiking activity as an ascension course. The chapel becomes part of the Pulpit Rock, piece of the extraordinary and iconic landscape, enhancing the visitor’s experience, while the hiker gradually transforms to pilgrim. The end of the path is signified by the bell tower, which stands tall at the edge of the mighty rock, extending symbolically the path towards the sky.

The shape of the chapel emerges from the systematic analysis of the morphology of the greatest stone in site, which has been decomposed to ten identical cross sections. These sections, simplified, generate the basic geometry of the temple, creating a prismatic, contemporary stone. In fair reference to the full of crevices topography of Pulpit Rock, long scattered cracks emerge on the shell skin, allowing the dramatic entry of the natural light into the chapel. The eastern façade is let almost transparent, letting the light to penetrate the holy space.

The structure is primarily wooden. The construction technique and the skin of the building refer to the Norse naval technology and the hulls of the ships, and, additionally, offer great resistance under high humidity conditions. The combination of the prismatic shape and the special structural technique creates a unique, almost cavernous place of meditation and pray.

Architects: Dimitrios Raidis , Giannis Papakostas, Maria Giannakakou